Pants on My Head

Living with a 2-year-old is . . . interesting. That's the best word I can come up with. Sometimes it's frustrating, sometimes it's hilarious, but it's never dull.

My daughter Lily is 2, and makes every day an adventure. I never know what she's going to do. I remember that my oldest daughter, Ava, was more predictable when she was 2-years-old.

This morning I gave Lily an apple to eat. I washed the apple, removed the sticker and handed it to her. Twenty minutes later She handed me what looked like a little twig. On closer inspection, I realized it was the stem of the apple she had eaten. "Where's the core Lily? Where are the seeds?" I asked. She looks at me, smiles and says "I ate it Mommy". She had eaten the entire apple. Pips and all. Crazy.

This past weekend, she tried to dress our dog Thursday in doll clothes. She started crying when Thursday wouldn't sit still long enough for her to close the Velcro of the doll dress.

Lily is like a stand up comedian. She's always got a new joke. She'll come running out of her room wearing 2 pairs of pants on her head and say "Mommy, I'm an octopus! I have 8 legs!" She'll wiggle her hands, feet and shake her head to wiggle her other 4 "legs".

My older daughter Ava is worried about being proper. She's is the ultimate first born. She worries that her room is getting too messy. She gets upset when she spills food on her clothes. She reminds every member of the family to use their very best manners. The only person who can get 4-year-old Ava out of her worry-wort state is Lily. When Lily starts pretending, or starts a gag, Ava laughs so hard you can hear her all the way across the house.

I need to spend more time enjoying life from the perspective of a 2-year-old. I'm too serious sometimes. I'm sure God put Lily in my life to remind me it's OK to have fun even when the dishes aren't washed. Lily is the comic relief in our family. Maybe it's time to put a pair of pants on my head and play octopus with her.